Fair Winds
by CdnJAGScribe
Summary: After forty years in the Navy, Animal decides that all good things must come to an end.
1. Chapter 1

"Fair Winds"

Author: Haruo Chikamori

E-mail: hhchikamori

Rating: T

Classification: Meg/Animal

Spoilers:

Summary: After forty years in the Navy, Animal decides that all good things must come to an end.

DISCLAIMER: The characters Harm Rabb, Jr., Meg Austin, Sarah "Mac" Mackenzie, Meg Austin, AJ Chegwidden, Bud Roberts, Harriet Sims-Roberts et al. belong (in concept if not name) to CBS/Bellisarius. Animal and all OC characters are the property of Heather and Hugo Chikamori. No profit is being made from this story, nor is any infringement intended.

Author's Note: The mandatory age for retirement from military service is 62 years of age, with senior officer approval (JCS) they can extend to 65. Now the usual term of service that most military officers do is a thirty year stretch and out at 52 years of age. But an officer in the Navy with prospects of promotion can be retained with higher approval coming from above. Of course, at any time, any retired serviceman can be recalled to active duty if circumstances become necessary.

_**The Pentagon, Washington DC.**_, _**June 29, 2020. Chief of Naval Operations' office**_

"Are you sure you're OK with this decision of yours?" Admiral Joanna Pruette, the first female Chief of Naval Operations smiled at the well-decorated admiral standing before her with a folder now containing a form; a DD-214. "After all, if you want to continue on…I'd be more than happy to keep you on. I'll throw the form into the shredder and make-believe that I didn't see it." She grinned at Admiral (four-stars) Toshio "Animal" Nakamura who laughed jovially.

"At 62 years, Joanna. I think it's time to let some fresh blood come up through the ranks. My daughter's in high-school, Grade 10 and I want to be home to watch her graduate. I was lucky to be able to watch my son's graduation because the JCS didn't hustle me off to some godforsaken part of the globe." Animal said as he smiled a smile that spoke _I'm done_.

Gazing upon his ribbon rack, ADM Joanna Pruett grinned, "Well, it's been quite a career." She indicated the sky-blue ribbon with the five stars arranged in an M-shape. Animal raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, every time the weather changes my shoulder reminds me of that fact." Animal responded dryly. "Luckily Meg, my darling wife, keeps the medicine cabinet stocked with ibuprofen."

"How is she?" the CNO asked. "It's been a while since RADM Nakamura was last here at the Pentagon for a meeting."

"Vice-Admiral Rabb keeps her busy with the Judge Advocate General office. As DJAG, she's usually working 15 hour days which means that for the past two years, our kids were latchkey kids before Jamie graduated and went to college. Other than that; life is going great. I'll have time to relax, maybe sleep in or go practice my photography." Animal said as he looked over at Joanna. "40 years, I've been serving. Seen as much as I want to see and it's definitely time."

"Well, Tosh, I'll make sure I remove the card from the rolodex. Otherwise I'll get this unreasonable desire to reactivate you to active duty and make you serve till you're eighty." Joanna laughed.

Animal gave her a mock-horror-struck look. "Heaven forbid." He exclaimed.

"I'm just kidding. You enjoy your retirement. But don't forget to stay in contact."

"Most definitely. Admiral."

"Admiral." Snapping to attention, Admiral Joanna Pruett, Chief of Naval Operations regardless of the area that they were in, rendered a salute. Animal returned it. "Good luck, Admiral…" Admiral Pruett stated formally. "Fair Winds and Following Seas."

As Animal walked out of the CNO's office and to the Naval Bureau of Personnel for his retirement pay disbursement, he remembered the talk that he and Meg had about the fact that he wanted to retire at forty years of service.

"_Meg, sweetheart." Animal had said about six months earlier._

"_What is it, darling." Meg had replied, her eyes still in a folder of a case that she was reviewing for a lawyer in the JAG office to see if everything was above board – one of her duties as a DJAG. She turned to look at him when he softly exhaled, the sound's nearness startling her. _

"_You know, I'm almost up against the ceiling." He said quietly as he kneeled beside her chair to look up at her. Meg's look at him was a curious one. "I'm almost at the forty mark. And that's because the CNO wanted me to serve till I was sixty-two years of age. I'll be there in a half year so I have start making preps to figure out what I'm going to do when I'm out." _

_Meg knew that her husband was approaching the end of his military service. Mandatory retirement age was sixty-two unless the Joint Chiefs requested that he serve longer, but she also knew of his distress at missing a lot of their children's activities and important events during the course of his career. The fact that he had been forty-one, when their first child was born and forty-seven when the second was born, augmented the fact that he felt as though he had let their children down by not being with them for many of the events of their life. As he had been appointed an interim commander of TF-833 or United States Fleet Forces Command, then directly dragooned to US Pacific Fleet Command then to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he'd had a whirlwind of a latter half of a career the past fifteen years. "Are you sure that's what you want to do?" Meg reached out a hand to caress her husband's face. It was worn and creased with worry lines and his hair had started turning salt and pepper. He didn't look old to her, he looked distinguished. Asians were lucky. They didn't age very much and he still had a boyish face albeit with a few more age-lines. "Whatever you decide to do, my love, will be fine with me. I'm going to try for thirty-five years. Besides…the pension at 30 years plus will be 75% and between the two of us…we'll be making 75% of what we both made on active duty."_

"_I've missed too many events of Jamie's while on duty with the Navy. I don't want to miss very many of Katharine's. And I don't want to miss her graduation like I almost did with Jamie's." His expression was earnest as Meg leaned in to give him a kiss. _

"_Don't think yourself a bad father. It was duty that had to be done." Meg said as she gathered her husband's hands in her own. "I'm sure Jamie understood why."_

"_Well, I still haven't forgiven myself for getting into his graduation ceremony five minutes prior to when he was supposed to go up on stage to receive his diploma." Animal said dourly. _

_Katharine was in the kitchen washing up a dish that she had used for some ice-cream. She came out and said to Animal. "Dad. Mom's right. We love you. If you think you've put in enough time in the military and are planning on leaving the Navy, we support you." She came over to put her arms around her dad in a show of affection. "Don't worry about finances…I'll just bug Mom for allowance money." Meg gave her a look of horror and elbowed Animal when he snickered. Animal winced. _

_Standing up, Meg nestled into his arms in an embrace. "Sweetheart, whatever you decide, I will support you 100%. We are fine as far as finances go. Our house is paid for, we don't have many financial commitments, except for the car we bought almost three years ago and that's about at the last three or four payments. Have you thought about what you plan to do when you're retired, honey?" _

"_Haunt the camera shop…" Animal grinned. "And…" he adopted a quizzical look. "…hmmm…nope…haven't thought much beyond that." _

_Running her lips across his, Meg smirked, her eyes twinkling. "You might want to think about that…since I'll be at work and won't be there to take care of your boredom." _

Animal grinned at the memory as he walked into the BuPERS office to file out a retirement disbursement with 75% benefits, filled out an application for a spousal dependent card as Animal was now technically a dependent of a serving officer; that being Meg. Making sure that all matters were checked off regarding PERS-835, the BuPERS disbursing officer signed the forms as the second officer to sign off, the first being the Chief of Naval Operations. "Congratulations, sir. You are officially separated and retired."

"Thank you. Commander." Animal grinned. "I believe my wife faxed over the signed DD Form 1172-2 so that I can get my spousal identification card. I believe my military ID will no longer work at any military installation."

"That's a big affirmative, sir. Your wife did fax over the DD Form 1172-2 and DD Form 1173 last week and phoned to ask us this morning that your card be expedited so that you can pick her up from work this afternoon."

"Why, thank you, Commander for notifying me of that. Did she mention the reason why?"

"She evidently had a motor vehicle breakdown around 400 block E Broad Street and she had to walk the rest of the way into work. The tow company towed the car to the shop and it looks like she'll be rideless." The commander stated.

"Damn…" Animal said.

"Your interim card will be the one with your military ID photo on it for expediency sake, you should receive your actual card in about two weeks - that special card is for Medal of Honor recipients only as your ribbon on your uniform and your military personnel file indicates; an issued DOD identification card, as are their family members, for recipients who are not on active duty and military retirees. It authorizes them military commissary, Post Exchange, and theatre privileges. All of the services, consistent with DOD policy, authorize use of morale, welfare, and recreation activities, including honorary club membership without dues. You are aware that as a Medal of Honor recipient, you are eligible for uniform privileges which allow recipients to wear their uniforms at any time or place they choose, unlike other military personnel or retirees. Your special MOH Travel and Identification Card signed by the Secretary of the Navy is still in effect, however as you are now retired and not an active or reserve member of the United States Military you may not use the ID card as a way of ensuring utilization of space-available military air transportation. Do you understand those requirements?" the commander at BuPERS indicated as he walked Animal through the list of requirements and benefits. "We are also signing you up for TRICARE…and establishing dependent care for your children. Of course your wife still has active-duty benefits."

"Absolutely, Commander."

"The other benefit, sir, to your Medal of Honor is a $1,259/mo pension."

Considering that $1,259.00 a month was non-taxable, that was a convenient addition. The fact that their combined income was being taxed at 33% hit the pocketbook and any pension that was non-taxable was a bonus.

Pocketing his last pay as he left BuPERS; he thought about dropping by the Borders bookstore to pick up the latest aircraft and photography magazines. In the end he opted to drop the aircraft magazine back on the shelf and pick up the photography one. Stopping by the Starbucks, he grabbed a mocha frappuchino with two shots of amaretto; thanking the long-time serving barista who recognized the admiral from all his caffeine runs and grinned at him. "Happy retirement, Admiral." When he was done at the Pentagon City Mall and at Borders, he headed for the car, pulled out of the Pentagon City Mall parking lot and headed onto the South Washington Blvd after getting onto the Beltway. With traffic it was about 22 mins to get to Falls Church.

_**JAG HQ, Falls Church, VA**_

As he pulled in he stopped by the gate-guard, who was a new face, who just about nearly had his eyeballs popping out of his head to see the ribbon on Animal's chest and was even more started to see the four-star admiral pull out his ID card as a _spouse_. "Sergeant. I just put in my DD-214. Son, I'm out…so you don't have to salute me or anything."

"No, sir. But the Medal of Honor, sir. I'm saluting you because of your Medal, sir. Thank you, sir!"

He found a parking spot in the visitor's parking area and walked over to the front door; snapping off several return salutes as Navy JAG legalmen, both male and female, looked startled at his rack and snapped off salutes. It was like running a gauntlet of salutes to the front door.

From the Judge Advocate General's office; Vice-Admiral Harmon Rabb Jr. grinned and snickered as he muttered to himself. "I'm glad that I mentioned that Admiral Nakamura was dropping by to pick the DJAG up. That's quite a show out there." He said innocently, turning to the person beside him rather informally and grinned that famous Harmon Rabb grin of his.

Meg laughed. "You are so bad, Harm."

"You know, Meg, I've put in my request for separation and retirement from the Navy. I've put my thirty in and I've got my full 75% retirement pay coming. Senate hearings and confirmation have been dealt with and it's official; Meg, you get my chair when I leave." Harm returned to his desk.

"Harm, I thought you were going for four-stars."

"Naw…three's good enough for me. I don't think I want to stay in till I'm 62." He sat down and motioned to Meg to grab a seat. "I can run a legal office or work for a defense contractor in their legal department. I'm not sure which I'm going to do yet, but the feelers are out there."

"My husband says he plans to haunt the camera stores." Meg laughed. "I told him that he'd better figure out something to while away his time as I'm not going to be around to take care of his wants and needs since I'm going to be at work most of the time…as JAG"

Harm raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Too much information, Meg." He grinned a ribald grin.

Meg shook her head laughing and put her hands over her face. "I didn't mean it like that, Harm." She said sarcastically through her fingers as she managed to stop laughing long enough to bring her hands back down from her face. Their friendship had grown throughout the years cultivated by their work and the history of naval aviator camaraderie between her husband and Harm. "So…" she said with a suggestive wink of her own, "how about you and Mac?"

"That's part of the reason why. Mac and I want to spend a lot more time together. She became a Brigadier General in Logistics Command." Meg remembered the promotion ceremony for Brigadier General Mackenzie-Rabb. "However she's seriously thinking of retiring too; Mattie just received her gold oak leaves and is a department head in VFA-41 which just re-equipped with the F-35B Lightning II. Their first tour with the new aircraft. Animal would be impressed." Harm said; the pride in his voice audible to Meg.

"He is." Meg said, knowing just how much Mattie meant to both families. Animal was watching Mattie's career with great interest as she was now in the same squadron as Animal spent most of his career. "If you remember, he was the one who suggested test pilot school."

"And considering what happened to Luke," hearkening back to their days investigating and the case in which AFTERN had flipped Luke's F-14 Tomcat over and put him into the ground. "I was very leery about that, but she was an instrumental part of that program." Harm remembered.

"Absolutely. Tosh was quite impressed that the program, having been slow up to the point where Mattie joined the test pilot crew, just lit afterburners when she came on. She ate up the syllabus at test pilot school so she came in and breezed through the testing phases. Whatever slowdowns that happened after that were all technical related and Mattie hammered the engineers to get those problems solved." Meg stated.

"Well, that's good to hear…" Harm grinned as that wasn't something that he knew…since LCDR Mattie Grace-Rabb, USN, callsign Sparky, namely for her red-hair and her temper, rarely ever intimated that the higher-ups thought highly of her capabilities.

A knock on the door prompted Harm to call out. "Come in!" And Animal poked his head in.

"Hi." He grinned.

"Ah…there's your husband." Harm got up and stood at attention as the four-star admiral walked in.

"At ease, Rabb. I'm now out. You're the ranking active officer here." Animal said, then turned to his wife. "The paper work is all in as of now; I'm retired with my ruptured duck."

"You may be retired, sir, but your Medal still deserves the salute." Harm grinned. "So, when is your retirement ceremony? I just put my request in for terminal leave as well. Your wife's getting the JAG's chair." Animal looked over at Meg with a questioning look.

"Haven't thought that far along yet, but I figure that it'll be soon. OPNAVINST 1710.7 should deal with that. Other than that, I've got absolutely no clue."

"So what do you plan to do now?" Harm asked his old RAG instructor.

"Grab a camera and go out to do some photography. I think I hear the nature parks calling me." He put a hand to an ear and grinned. "Maybe go see a few airshows. I dunno. But the freedom to do whatever is quite appealing. Katharine's just about grown and Meg and I'll be empty-nesters soon." Animal gave Meg a loving look which she returned.

"Mac's now based out of Georgia – MARCORLOGCOM and she's just got her Brigadier General's but she's thinking about packing it in this year too. She's got 31 years in and she's pretty much decided that's it for her. And I support her move. We plan to do some sightseeing across the United States once we're out. I hear Bud just got tapped for his Rear Admiral lower half two years ago. With that misstep at 0-4, we were wondering if he was promoted as a favor to Admiral Chegwidden, but evidently he's certainly come a long way." Harm indicated.

"Georgia?" Meg asked. "How long have you been apart for?"

"Several years. Meg. We go see each other on weekends and leaves and holidays." Harm said wryly. "Come to think of it. All these years apart, even when married will ironically have made our marriage stronger. We talk and hash things out rather than let things fester. But yeah, it makes for good solid communication. And the fact that once we retire, we'll be together. Just us and an RV."

"You make that sound so good that I think we should join you." Animal snickered. "Meg's got a few more years in, I think, isn't that right, hon?" he queried.

"Well…dear…" she said, giving her husband a loving smirk. "I'm not ready just yet to retire. Talk to me in a couple of years." Harm and Animal both laughed.

There was a subtle knock on the door. Harm barked. "Enter!"

"Sir. I understand the admirals are talking, however, I was wondering if I might have a moment of your time, sir." The dulcet alto voice asked and a familiar face with cheerily merry brown eyes peered around the corner of the door.

"Come on in, Coates." Harm grinned. "Long time, no see. My god, it's almost been 11 years since I saw you last."

"Thank you, sir." The woman walked in and everyone's jaws dropped open in surprise. All the admirals were wearing summer dress and Coates was dressed likewise…but she was dressed in officer garb as well and her shoulders were bearing the shoulder-boards of a Lieutenant Commander (medical corps).

"Lieutenant Commander…Coates?" Harm's jaw was still open.

"Yes, sir." Coates grinned merrily. "But it won't be Coates for much longer, if Jason has anything to say about it, sir. I just wanted to pass you your invitation as well as yours, ma'am." She said to Meg and then turned to Animal and gave him a salute and held it. Animal had no choice but to hoist himself out of his chair and salute her too. "Thank you, sir." She grinned cheekily. "I've always wanted to salute a Medal of Honor, recipient. Now I can cross that off my bucket list."

Animal shook his head wryly. "Jen…" he said softly. "When I put down my signature to help sponsor you into STA-21, I never knew that you'd make such a terrific officer." He reached out his hand to shake Jen's. "Congratulations on your lieutenant commanders promotion. Wasn't able to cross tracks with you to tell you congratulations before and how is Commander Tiner?"

"Terrific, sir; but I'm sure that VADM Rabb here can tell you more about his career now that Commander Tiner is back at JAG Headquarters."

Lieutenant Commander Jen Coates excused herself and left the room, leaving all of them speechless.

"She's made it quite far, hasn't she? The Seaman to Admiral program is definitely working." Animal commented as he looked at the closed door. Peering at the invitation in Meg's hands, they saw

_You and a Guest have just been cordially invited_

_To the Joining in Holy Matrimony_

_Of_

_Commander Jason Tiner, USN JAG_

_And_

_Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Coates, USN Medical Corps (Psychiatry)_

_At The Wedding Chapel, Magnolia House Inn_

_1500 HRS; August 26, 2020_

Harm had just opened his and was perusing it too; his eyes growing round in shock. "Well, that's officially it, we're the old generation." He muttered to himself.

"Yep." Meg replied. "It just doesn't feel like it was that long ago when we were lieutenants."

"Speak for yourself, dear." Animal said "There are some days when my body tells me that it ain't gonna do a thing…my old creaking bones."

"Well…anyways, Harm." Meg said. "I guess I have to be taking former Admiral _Grumpy_ home." She grinned at Harm who chuckled. "This ol' ex Navy man tends to whine when he's not fed promptly."

Animal looked offended and exclaimed "Heyyy!" Harm burst out laughing.

(to be continued).


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note: **_Yes, the conversations between Animal and Katy are much like the conversations that I have with my own son (who plays minor hockey…) He's always wanting to go to The Hockey Shop, our local hockey equipment store, for either skates, sticks, and other items)

_**June 30, 2020 0530hrs, Animal & Meg's home, 20021 Gleedsville Rd, Leesburg, VA**_

Animal was not an early morning person, even after 40 years in the military. His wife on the other hand was an early riser. Meg knew for a fact that Animal would grouse his way through his morning routine and he downright was an Japanese-American grizzly bear (*Author's note: There is a Japanese Grizzly bear in real life – It's known as the Ussuri Brown Bear - _Ursus arctos lasiotus_) if he was woken up before he was _goddamned good n' ready_ to get up. Meg smiled cheerily as Animal took a swipe at the alarm clock and sent it flying across the room. That also was the usual morning routine.

She prodded the bear. "Morning, sweetheart."

" *snort*" A sleepy brown eye opened far enough to give her a glare as Animal mumbled something unintelligible. It sounded like "murflefurbglurb" with an emphatic "Frughinflurp" thrown in for good measure.

"I gotta prep lunch for Katy and me and you need to drive her to school this morning. She's got early morning ice hockey practice at six-thirty." Meg smiled, looking at her husband. Katharine was trying to get a hockey scholarship at the University of Maine with the Woman Black Bears. She was also the captain of her Rep team. Since Animal was born in a state with an original six team, he snorted at Meg's term of _ice hockey_.

"It's…HOCKEY…not ice hockey…HOCKEY!" He grumbled as he threw on a t-shirt and jeans. "Hockey in June?" He muttered disbelievingly.

"Hockey then…" Meg retorted as she gave her husband a loving caress. "You do know she's trying to get that scholarship at Maine and she wanted some extra ice-time with the coaches and her friends are there too, love."

"O…-kay…" Animal said as he got a light jacket so that he'd be able to walk out of the rink without becoming the same internal body temperature as an icicle from his time inside the rink watching his daughter skate. He'd toss it in the car. It was a Bauer Team Jacket, worn by most hockey team players as well as team parents. He could hear Katy already rustling about in her room gathering her gear. "Hey…squirt, you ready?" he said.

"Just about, Dad! I'm about out of my hockey tape. I'm gonna need to get some more." Her voice echoed through the half empty house. With Jamie gone and studying Naval Studies at the University of Georgetown, half the house just felt unlived in. When the two had been there, it had seemed like there wasn't enough room. Now with one gone and one on the way out, it seemed like they had too much house for just Meg and him. Looking at his reflection in the hallway mirror, Animal knew he had aged, even though Meg still looked the beauty (though she had dyed her hair auburn) that she was when they had first got married. As Meg rummaged around in the kitchen getting the lunches together then hastily getting herself ready for work, uniform on, her admiral's stars resplendent on her khaki uniform, Animal took a long moment to gaze at her.

Meg noticed the love in his eyes and smiled at him. "Love you…" she whispered as she leaned into his embrace.

"Love you too…" he whispered back; brown eyes meeting her blue ones.

Meg purred at him. "Hmmm, honey, you know that your mustache makes you look distinguished…but…now that you're a civilian, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure…" Animal grinned at her; he'd only grown it to let it detract from his youthful looking face. It seemed incongruous that he'd had a youthful face – it was a problem with all Asians and as former CNO he'd had to be taken seriously; he had grown out his mustache so that he'd be able to give orders and have them be obeyed. Now that he didn't fly high-performance jet fighters he didn't have to worry about the oxygen mask properly sealing to his face, so he was able to do that.

"Shave that scruff off, dear…" She gave him a quick kiss and tapped his upper lip which was covered in bristles. "It itches."

"Aye-aye, ma'am."

With that Meg got her admiral's combo cap from the kitchen island, grabbed her lunch bag and briefcase; gave her husband and daughter loving kisses and headed out the door bound for work.

Katy had a knowing grin on her face as Animal gave her a wry look. "Grab your bag…squirt…and let's get going for your hockey practice or you'll be late." He said as he indicated her hockey bag."

"What about breakfast?" His sixteen year-old gave him a mock-pout.

"We'll get something on the way." He replied as they both headed out the door.

"I'm glad you're home, Dad…" Katy said.

"I'm glad I am too, squirt."

_**JAG Headquarters, Falls Church, VA, 0730hrs**_

"Good morning ma'am." 1st Lieutenant Sandra Murillo, United States Marine Corps JAG greeted the DJAG as she walked through the swinging doors.

"Good morning, Lieutenant." Meg nodded as she walked through the familiar bullpen. A cascade of memories from the first time that she had walked through those doors with Harm and Admiral Chegwidden – they had been switched to a detachment office at Falls Church and uprooted from the Washington Navy Yard but this office in JAG HQ had been home for almost thirty years now with the occasional detours from being co-located with her husband. Her husband, having been a naval aviator, his had been the prime career in their family until now. Where-ever he was assigned, she went. Now she could focus on her career. But she thought back through the years that it wasn't bad, hitching her career to his; it gave her the chance at a family and two wonderful children and now that her husband had wrapped up his career in the Navy, she would have the chance to excel in hers. The CNO had seen that Meg was an up and coming star in the flag ranks and the prime choice for the JAG chair was hers. Harm had indicated that; but that wasn't all she wanted. She wanted four-stars and the JAG slot wouldn't be the only slot she was interested in.

Getting to her desk put a stop to her wool-gathering. Placing her briefcase beside the desk, she glanced at the time on the clock that was on top of the file-cabinet. 0732hrs: morning meeting would be at 0800 and she needed to make sure that all the files she was overseeing and reviewing in terms of the case advisory were ready to hand back to their respective attorneys. A quick knock on the door had caused her to look up. "Come in!" she called out.

The door opened and her good friend, Harm looked in. "So…did Admiral Grumpy settle into his new status?"

"Well…Admiral Grumpy grumped a bit after he got home, ate his dinner and we had a good night's sleep. He seems much happier now. He took Katharine to her ice-…uh…_hockey_…practice." Meg corrected herself. Animal having come from a state with an original six team insisted on it being called HOCKEY…not ice-hockey as it was referred to down in most of the Lower 48 and DC. That was her husband's idiosyncrasy.

Harm laughed, he knew that all too well since the former CNO was always admonishing him about that. Harm was born in California…so he was too well aware that Californians referred to hockey as ICE hockey and that irritated Animal to no end.

Not to mention, that Animal was still sore from the last Stanley Cup final. 2020 was supposed to be the New York Rangers' year. They had an enviable record. 72 wins for 144 points, the best damned season in Rangers history, best damned point total in the NHL period, bar none. He had exploded. "GODDAMNED CANOOKS!" when the final buzzer had sounded to the ever-present merriment of Harm who had opted to cheer for the Canucks over his LA Kings when the Canucks had ousted them in five. Bo Horvat had exploded for 3 goals and 2 assists to put the Vancouver Canucks over the top in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. The veterans on the Vancouver Canucks wanted the Stanley Cup and Niklas Jensen, Hunter Shinkaruk, Jake Virtanen and Bo Horvat combined with the back-stopping of a 5 year NHL experienced netminder who had put the brakes on the New York Rangers season. And to put salt in the wound, this netminder was in his first season as the primary goaltender, the other four seasons, he had been the backup until Eddie Lack had retired. Some Nikkei-Irish mixed guy named Chika-something or the other; first name Chris was their goaltender and he shut out the Rangers in their first matchup. The Canucks had come out of nowhere and that had caused Animal to explode vociferously. Not to mention, what hurt even worse for the staunchly New York Rangers fan was that the Canucks had the impertinence to WIN the Cup at Madison Square Garden. Retired defense veteran and Canuck cheering section mouthpiece Kevin Bieksa had the guts to come into MSG to cheer on the _Casucks,_ as Animal called them, as had several others including several who were 1994 veterans such as Geoff Courtnall, Kirk McLean, that sandy-haired midget Cliff Ronning and including long-time Canuck President Trevor Linden. And they didn't mentally crumble like they did against the Boston Bruins way back in 2011. "Damned Casucks" Animal had muttered morosely, as he tossed the New York Rangers jersey into the wash. Why couldn't it have been like 1994? The Rangers hadn't had a first round pick thanks to that degenerate in the GM's chair since 2012 since that damned idiot kept trading their first round pick on anyone that would get the Rangers' hopes up. And just when it seemed like the Rangers had their chance in 2020. The Canucks after 50 ~bleep~ing years managed to win their FIRST Stanley Cup…at the expense of Animal's New York Rangers. Oh, he was not happy. (Author's note: The author is a Canucks fan ~evil grin~ and has been waiting a LONG time to see the Canucks win the Stanley Cup). The tip of the hat that was played at MSG while the Canucks paraded the Stanley Cup around the arena to the few Canucks fans in the audience included a tribute to #29 Gino Odjick who had fought cardiac amyloidosis. Of course there wasn't a dry eye in the audience; but whether that was from Canucks fans over their beloved enforcer or Rangers fans crying over the loss of the Stanley Cup, it would never be known. Animal swore it was revenge from the Casucks from most Rangers fans cheering for the Boston Bruins during the 2011 final.

"So…" Harm continued. "Katy's playing rep now?" He raised an eyebrow in query.

"Yeah…" Meg replied. "She's been playing rep for two years now. Harm. One of the best forwards in her division, in fact, in their tier, actually." She gestured at the photo on her shelf of Katy in hockey gear, her long flowing brunette hair down for the photo. "She plays left wing, shoots left. Forty two goals fifty-eight assists." Harm grinned wryly. Meg sounded like a proud hockey-mom.

"You sound like you're really into it." Harm noted. "Never pictured you for a hockey mom."

Meg grinned back at him. "Well…being a mom has changed a lot of things, Harm. I'm happy that Katy's found something she really loves doing. Of course it helps that Tosh is a rabid hockey nut. Of course, Tosh didn't have a good season, this year…with the Rangers not winning. I don't think it really helped that you were sporting a Vancouver Canucks flag on your Lexus, Harm." She admonished, the silent laughter in her eyes teasing him.

"Oh…anything I could do to help…" Harm grinned, his words indicating the exact opposite. They both snickered. Harm remembered the time that Animal had come out to Meg's office during the Stanley Cup finals almost two weeks earlier. Harm had been watching Animal look over at Harm's car. Harm would have sworn Animal had steam coming out of his ears. If his eyes could set fire to something, Harm's car would not have been safe, least of all the Canucks car flag. Animal was a die-hard Rangers fan and anything not Rangers in the general vicinity of where he was standing was not apt to make his mood good.

Meg looked over at the clock, "Isn't it about time for staff meeting?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah…it is…" Harm said looking over at her clock. "Shall we?" He gestured towards the bullpen as they both headed out the door.

_**Ashburn Ice House, Ashburn, VA 0830hrs**_

"Love you, Dad." Katy grinned at him as she had stepped back out in regular clothes after a two hour grueling effort on the ice. She had showered and her now slightly damp hair was pulled back in a pony-tail. "So, what are we doing next?"

"Oh, I dunno…" Animal said, eliciting a roll of the eyes from Katy. "How about we get you some breakfast then figure out when the skate-shop opens." As they walked out in to the parking lot, the sun was starting to heat up the air in preparation for the summer temperatures of midday.

Katy looked like a little kid again as her eyes lit up. "Can we?" she eagerly asked as she looked at her dad as if he was the best dad in the whole wide world.

"Well, you were saying that you needed some hockey tape…for your stick."

"Dad, Can we try out some sticks?" she sounded eager.

"Alright…" Animal said. "Make you a deal, we'll spend a couple hours at the hockey store…then I have to go to the camera store." He grinned as Katy pondered this. She wasn't as into photography as she was into her hockey, so it was a tradeoff.

"OK…" She said finally.

"…and then how about we go see the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center." Animal offered. If there was one thing she liked that Animal liked just as much, it was airplanes. Katy was Daddy's girl. That caused Katy's eyes to light up brightly.

"You're the best, Dad." She grinned as she tossed the hockey bag in the back of the car. "Let's go!" Animal when they had gotten settled in the car and they were all buckled in, pointed the nose of the car back towards Leesburg and Play It Again Sports. "Dad. You think we can check out and see if they've got APX4 sticks. I want the Mantha curve on my stick." Katy grinned at him.

"Uh…OK…" Animal replied. He had absolutely no idea what that was all about? Stick flex, curve and other aspects of hockey stick selection were foreign concepts to him. And the simple fact that these terms flew off Katy's tongue at him boggled his mind. She was a hockey player and aspiring US womans' team player and that was a completely different world to him.

_**Play It Again Sports, 59 Catoctin Circle N.E. Leesburg, VA 0915hrs**_

"Hey, Katy!" One of the guys in store uniform hailed her as Animal and Katy entered the store as Animal fastened an appraising stare on the guy. His military glare didn't work as well in civilian clothes, Animal duly noted.

"Hi, Will, This is my Dad." She smiled at him. "Former admiral in the United States Navy and former Chief of Naval Operations." she grinned.

"Pleased to meet you." _Will_ extended his hand. Animal looked at it for a moment then reached out his hand and gripped it, with a hard handshake, satisfyingly pleased when Will winced. Katy raised an eyebrow at her dad who just grinned back at her. Katy shook her head. Dads would be dads and intimidating would-be suitors just went stock-in-trade.

"So your mom didn't come with you?" Will asked, his hand twinging at the hard grip that Animal had put on it, hoping that the feeling would come back in his right hand.

"Naw, Will, Mom had work today." Katy replied, smiling at him, "She works at the Judge Advocate General's office."

"Oh…she military too?"

"Yeah."

"So…you said you needed a new stick." Animal stated to Katy, getting her back on track.

"Yeah, Mantha curve, 55 flex." Katy grinned. "It's a bit on the flatter side, but I can get the puck up and flip it over the goalie's shoulder, or slip it through five-hole."

"Five hole, huh?" Animal asked.

"That's between the goalie's legs." Katy replied and laughed as Animal gave Will a sour expression which made Will cringe.

"…Dad, what you're thinking is a penalty in hockey. 4 minute major and a 10 for unsportsmanlike; probably a three-game for game misconduct." Katy could read him too well…just like Meg. Will, he was sure, got the gist of that in slightly less than a minute. Will turned pale.

"So…what position does Will play?" Animal asked, giving Katy a meaningful look.

"…goalie…" Will offered very softly as Animal affixed him with an even more stony glare.

"Uh…huh…" Animal stated then was silent as Katy and Will compared the sticks, the APX4 versus the Nexus 8000 with the Mantha curves on each.

Will whispered to Katy. "Your dad, is he THAT protective?"

"Yeah…" Katy affirmed. "He's an admiral…former fighter pilot and he's a great guy…"

"Yeah…I'm sure…" Will winced.

"He's also a Medal of Honor recipient." Katy looked over at Will who had turned sheet white. He knew that those Medal of Honor recipients had to go through some major shit in order to become one. And he sure as hell didn't want someone who could go through that kind of shit and survive – mad at him. He also resolved that he would never ever attempt to try to go for Katy in that kind of way that he had often dreamed of. He really wanted to live to see his eighteenth birthday. "That was before my mom and he got married." That made Will even more resolved to keep his new-found resolution.

When Katy had selected her new stick, and gotten a stacked set of ten rolls of hockey tape, she went over to the counter where her dad was standing there with his wallet out.

Will rang her items up and said. "That'll be $290.96, sir." He said to Animal who passed the debit card over and punched in his PIN. When the transaction was approved, Will handed the receipt to Animal who gave Will a savage grin and said. "Be seeing you." That didn't make Will comfortable at all.

When Katy and Animal got out to the parking lot, Katy turned to Animal and said. "Dad…you were so mean…" she chuckled though she was slightly annoyed at him. "I think Will's not going to even think of me in that way."

"Do you want him to?" Animal asked.

"No…I mean…yeah…but…I think you scared him off. I like him, but not in that way, y'know. He's just a friend and someone I can talk to about hockey." Katy said. "I love you, Dad, but you gotta stop being over-protective Dad. Y'know. I'm growing up."

"OK…I'll try." Animal said. "I know you're not always gonna be my little girl. Katy, and I guess that's what makes Dad so overprotective about his daughter." He leaned over and reached an arm around his daughter who leaned into his embrace. "I'll try not to be so blatant about it." He promised.

"OK…" Katy acquiesced as she hugged her dad. "You were saying something about the camera shop then off to the aviation museum?"

"I do recall something about that…but aren't you getting hungry?" Animal asked.

"Yep…hungry. Growing kid here…" she grinned saucily at him.

"You remind me of someone…Harm's kid…now Lieutenant Commander Grace-Rabb." He muttered.

"Well, who do you think I learned it from? Dad?" At that Animal rolled his eyes.

"Remind me to thank the Lieutenant Commander for the times she baby-sat you." He replied dryly.

_**Ace Photo, 44710 Cape Ct, Ashburn, VA 1030hrs**_

Animal looked over some camera equipment while Katy browsed through the camera books to kill time. She knew that her dad was a camera nut and now that he was out of the Navy, he'd be going photography shooting a lot more…but the other flip-side was that he'd be able to be out at her practices more too. That balanced out things on her mental balance-sheet. Being a part of the Navy was what defined her dad for oh, so long. But she was glad that she didn't have to share her dad with the Navy any more. He was all hers and that he would be able to be present at her graduation in another couple of years made her that much more happy. She was in her final two years of high-school and her father and her mother hadn't had her before her dad had turned forty-six. She would be going off to university in two years, hopefully on a hockey scholarship to Maine to the Black Bears women's team. That team was one of the best in NCAA hockey and that's what she wanted. Maybe she'd also be able to be named to the US Olympic team and her dream was to go up against Canada and beat them for the gold.

By this time, her dad was back beside her and she looked over at him. "So, Dad…find anything new?"

"Oh…just the new teleconverter for the 600mm…" he replied.

"Going to go shoot some wildlife? Dad?" She grinned at him. "So…off to the museum?" she asked.

"Yep…let's go." Her dad grinned at her and they headed for the aviation museum. They had stopped by their home just before they had headed for the camera store and dropped Katy's hockey bag off in her room. Katy had spread her hockey gear out to air it out. If that wasn't done, it would end up smelling like someone's month old smelly socks. It would make anyone gag anytime they walked into the room.

"We going to pick Mom up from work? Her car's in the repair shop…right?"

"Well…she got a rental this morning and they dropped it off, so I don't think she needs a ride home tonight." Animal replied… "but it doesn't hurt to check. We'll check with her when we get to the museum."

"OK, Dad."

_**Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum Annex, 14390 Air and Space Museum Pkwy, Chantilly, VA**_

"Hey…" Animal had called Meg at the office. "Sweetie." After her customary military greeting of rank and name.

"Hi…sweetheart." Meg responded. "So…what are you and Katy doing?"

"We're off at the National Air & Space Museum Annex in Chantilly." Animal grinned. "Katy wanted to go see it."

"HEY!" Katy looked offended. "It wasn't just me! Dad wanted to go too."

Animal laughed uproariously causing several passerbys to look at him with curious expressions on their faces.

"By the way, the reason I'm calling is…did you need a ride home, or are you OK with the rental?"

"Yeah, I think I'll drive home." Meg replied. "The rental's fine and I'm going to call the mechanic today and see if they've gotten any where with my car."

"OK…if you're sure you're fine. Tell Harm I said _hi_." Animal stated.

"I will. OK…you two have fun…and enjoy the afternoon… Don't waste too much gas though, OK?"

"Awwww, rats. That means I won't be able to go see the Orion launch two days from now." Animal whined.

"Dear!?" Meg's arch tone was noticeable even through the phone.

"I'm sorry, Katy…the Orion launch is out." Animal noted to his daughter who said.

"Hey, that was YOUR idea…not mine, Dad… Leave me out of that one!"

"Love you, honey." Animal said to Meg.

"Love you too…behave…OK?" Meg admonished.

"I guess I can't spend $600.00 on scale models?" Animal asked.

"I'm hanging up now." Meg replied.

"Love you…"

"Love you too…"


	3. Chapter 3

_**Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum Annex, 14390 Air and Space Museum Pkwy, Chantilly, VA, June 30, 2020**_

Animal grinned as Meg had cut the phone connection after their _pleasantries_. Katy stood there shaking her head, a smile on her face. Her parents were always demonstrative in their love for each other, whether it be holding hands, hugs, or walking arm-in-arm. Even after twenty-two years of marriage, the two of them were still like newly-married couples in their love for one another.

Katy grinned as she and her Dad headed for the building that housed the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Shaped like an enormous hangar, the building stuck out amongst the other buildings near Dulles International. Jam-packed with all sorts of examples of aircraft, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center was one of the most prized places to go to for any fan of aviation.

"Hey…" her Dad said. "Let's catch the guided tour, shall we?" Animal loved being incognito; with his daughter, he wouldn't be identified. And after Animal had been so strait-laced these past 40 years being in the military, being a civilian meant that he could cut loose and enjoy himself. Katy was wondering if she liked what he was planning, the wicked little glint in his eye told her he was up to something. _Wonder if Mom has enough bail money_; she thought to herself.

The sign said: _**Next Guided Tour: 1323**_ and checking her watch, it was almost 1315 hrs. There was a crowd gathered by the guided tour booth and at 1323 exactly, a dapperish young man about twenty-six years old stepped out onto the concourse and spoke. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Randall, I'll be your guide today for this guided tour of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, if you'll follow me." And off they went. Randall was a superb guide, knowledgeable in his aircraft and his history of aviation. And Katy could see the wheels turning as Animal periodically spoke up asking questions – very basic ones – ones that Katy knew her Dad already knew the answers to. All the better to build up his cover. Now when Randall came up to the F-14A Tomcat that was parked (the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center has an F-14D in real life), he started speaking. "The F-14A Tomcat was the primary fleet air defence fighter in the United States Navy. This example that we have here is one from VF-41 Black Aces which was flown by a Lieutenant Commander Toshio Nakamura over North Korea, a mission after which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. He was later promoted to Admiral and he was our former Chief of Naval Operations." By this time Animal had a grin a mile wide on his face as he raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"So…this was the F-14 that he flew for most of his career?" Animal asked, an innocent expression on his face as everyone of the guided tour group turned to look at him. Nobody recognized him. "Was he a Top Gun?"

"Well…I don't know if he flew THAT aircraft his entire career" Randall was a bit nonplussed at the question. "As far as being a Top Gun we believe so."

"So the Bureau Number of the aircraft would be BuNo 55631 and the nose would read _Texas Gal_?" Animal grinned. "And…was Texas Gal because of his wife? Was she really from Texas?" To everyone else, his expression looked blissfully innocent, but Katy knew her Dad all too well. This was his comically wicked expression.

"Uh…I wasn't aware of that information, sir." Randall by this time was completely confused. Katy was absolutely in stitches – Dad was soo evil. "But if you'll look carefully at the nose section…you might find your answer, sir."

Animal made a show of looking carefully at the aircraft - sure enough, there was the nose-art 'Texas Gal' of his old beloved F-14A; a little further down the fuselage, the F-14 Tomcat bore the Bureau Number 55631. Looking up he saw the black ace of spades playing card on the Tomcat's fuselage that was so familiar to him. "Yup…" He confirmed then he turned to his daughter, a ridiculously evil expression on his face. "Hey…Katy…" He said loudly. "This was Daddy's aircraft when he flew." Katy nearly split her sides laughing as the rest of the tour group's jaws dropped open. Randall nearly choked on his inhale. Jerking his thumb at the F-14 he uttered "My airplane…" He grinned as he looked at the rest of the tour group. Katy covered her face with her hands – it was embarrassing, but also hysterically funny; Dad had perfect timing on his prank. The innocent set-up questions to make him look like the ignorant tourist then he sprung the trap. The rest of the group looked at Randall questioningly then back at Animal to see if what he was saying could be confirmed. Randall was so absolutely bewildered, it was hilarious. The confirmation was given when Animal surreptitiously slid out the Medal of Honor identity-card so that everyone could see it. Then there was a stampede of people wanting to get autographs. Then they all matched it up with the F-14A Tomcat photo that had Animal standing beside the F-14 dressed in flight gear.

Looking up at the guy claiming that he was Animal and the photo – a young guy said loudly "Hey, that really IS him…" to the rest of the tour group.

After Randall learned of the fact that the old Asian man with his teen-age daughter was actually Admiral Toshio Nakamura, he let the cordon aside just so Animal could reacquaint himself with his old mount. Flashes went off as the tour group had taken the opportunity to photograph the reunion of the old aviator with his former aircraft. Katy had snapped a photo of her Dad caressing the nose of his old F-14A Tomcat with a reminiscing look on his face. Also they took the opportunity to hear some old stories of his time with the fleet. Katy overheard on several occasions that her dad should have a great second career as a comedian based on how well the prank went over on them. Her dad had a great big smile on his face.

After the tour, Animal and Katy took the time to walk through the exhibits themselves. By 5:00 closing time, they had really done the tour and their legs were aching. After one last swing by his old F-14 as he whispered "See you again soon, old gal", they turned their weary feet towards the bookstore/souvenir which was still open until six.

_**Animal & Meg's home, 20021 Gleedsville Rd, Leesburg, VA,**_ _**June 30, 2020 1845hrs**_

Katy was relaxing on her bed in her room easing her tired feet and enjoying a book about the United States Navy Aggressors that they had bought over at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, when she overheard her mother exclaiming. "Honey!?"

"Yes, dear." The tone of her father's voice was innocent.

"Why is there a large F-14A Tomcat model in the center of our living room…and where is our coffee table?" (AN: JSI has a 1/8th Scale F-14A Tomcat for those who have ever looked into large-scale model kits)

Katy had to lay down her book and hide her face in the pillow to muffle her laughter.

_**JAG Headquarters, Falls Church, VA, July 1, 2020**_

"I have a Tomcat for a coffee table now…" Meg complained to Harm, the merriment in her eyes belying the annoyed comment. Even she found that amusing. "My oak coffee table ended up in the study."

"What?" Harm asked querying his DJAG. "Where'd he get a Tomcat model that large?"

"My dearest daughter and my hubby went to the Smithsonian Annex by Dulles and he played a trick on the tour guide. Evidently his F-14 is on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center and he acted like he was a tourist as if he didn't know anything about flying and tweaked the nose of the guy who was doing the tour. I swear, after retirement, I think my husband has experienced age regression. I didn't know he had that level of immaturity in him." Harm was laughing his head off – he thought Animal's prank was funny. For the majority of his career, Animal was as military as anyone came. Tough and unrelenting in his goal of training the best damned fighter pilots in the Navy or as commander of a fighter squadron; even more so as the Chief of Naval Operations as he had become the pinnacle of four-star positions in the United States Navy. Hearing about the fun side of his superior come out after Animal's retirement and becoming a civilian, gave the vice-admiral no end of amusement.

"Too many years of being strait-laced, Meg…will do it to anyone." Harm stated as he pondered the idea of what Mac would say if he replaced the coffee table with a 1/8 scale Tomcat – after all he missed his own mount which was somewhere in Kansas, last he heard. At least it wasn't being cut up into razor blades or became the framework for a new Maytag. "Hmmm…I wonder if Mac will…" Meg saw the wheels in Harm's head turning.

"I don't think so. Mac would probably kill Tosh for giving you the idea." Meg replied. "…and I love my husband too much to get him in that much trouble. I also like having my husband around. He's very useful…" That comment caused Harm's eyebrows to shoot skyward. Meg rolled her eyes at that.

"Rats." Harm looked downcast. It was times like these that Harm was jealous of his old RAG mentor. Mac had a preconceived notion of what her house should look like and didn't want to have any deviation from what she had created in their home (when they could get together), whereas Meg had far looser home standards with regards to improvised furniture. Mac preferred all their military mementos placed in the study where it was all neatly out of the way. Animal could get away with bringing in an F-14A Tomcat model of a size that would be considered a museum piece and use it as a functional coffee table. Mac would probably blow a gasket. "Animal is so lucky to have you…" He said contemplatively as he strove to keep his mind from strolling down the _what-if_ scenario that he envisioned in his mind. It would just be unfaithful.

"So…did you get the particulars on Lieutenant Mellis' case? He's defending a 'wilful disobedience to lawful orders'?" Meg asked, changing the subject, as Harm nodded his head. "I reviewed the case to make sure that our erstwhile Lieutenant was being thorough in the defense of his client after I heard some rumblings that Lieutenant Mellis was trying to cut corners? I didn't see that as the case, Harm. He was thorough with his defense and the client was just not happy with the outcome of the case."

"Ah…isn't that always the case when the verdict doesn't go their way." Harm looked over at the proffered folder and took it. "I completely agree with your review findings."

"So…we call Mellis in and pat him on the back, tell him _good job, keep it up_?" Meg asked him.

"I'd say so."

"Good…that way he gets a carrot before getting kicked in the ass and told not to make it appear as if he's cutting corners." Meg returned.

"You're a tough one, Meg." Harm raised both eyebrows.

"I try…" Meg smirked. "Anyways, we used to do that with the ornery mules that used to pasture in our paddock beside the horses…"

"Are you saying Lieutenant Mellis has the personal characteristics of a mule?" Harm asked looking at his DJAG with a practiced look as he peered through the file.

"Not really, but if he had a set of long ears and a tail, he'd certainly come close." Meg stated reaching for the file. "It's been pointed out that his stubbornness is jeopardizing an otherwise fine Navy Law career. He'd make a good civilian defense attorney with the characteristics he holds now, but in the Navy, you can't make a career out of criminal defense. He has to be a bit more flexible." Harm nodded in agreement as Meg had a good point. Too many times in fact, had the civilian sector come calling to the Navy and they had lost a good many solid attorneys. Alan Mattoni did his twenty and left for the civilian sector, and Mac had had a good many offers, but she was too loyal to the Corps to leave, as was Meg to the Navy.

"Think you'd go ply your trade in the civilian sector after you finish up with the Navy?" Harm asked Meg.

"Naw…by the time I get out, I'll be Tosh's age now. I'll be looking for a nice comfortable rocking chair and hoping that my kids are in happy relationships." Meg replied with a smirk. "I don't think I want to be a district attorney or anything like that. I've been too happy in the supervisory role here as DJAG. I'll be too busy trying to keep my kids in line…" she paused for a moment and grinned at Harm. "…that includes Tosh considering he's regressed behaviorally to the age of fifteen."

A knock on the door caused the both of them to look up. It was RDML Bud Roberts, his salt and pepper having grayed to a more uniform distinguished grey. Harriet was on him to lose some weight and he had done so, making his form more muscular than it was as they had originally remembered. Harm thought though uncharitably that Harriet was starting to become a bit of a nag. He had gone from being a prime litigator in the office to the head of the judicial section at JAG. "Sorry to bother you, sir, ma'am." Although he had changed a lot physically in the intervening years, he was still behaviorally the Bud Roberts of old.

"What is it, Bud?" Meg asked.

"Well, it's Lieutenant Mellis, sir, ma'am." He said looking over at them. "I've had to admonish him several times this court case for unwarranted questions in cross." He sat down when Meg offered him a seat.

"What sort of questions?" Harm looked concerned.

"Questions regarding the veracity of the answers given, as if he was skeptical of the witness themselves, insinuating that they were perjuring themselves even when the testimony was given that corroborated with evidence." Bud said. "I've had to speak privately with him in chambers and admonish him to correct his behavior." This did not sit well with Meg nor Harm and they resolved to sit down with the lieutenant to correct him on his behavior.

**MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS COMMAND, ****Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Albany, GA**

"Afternoon, Ma'am." Master Gunnery Sergeant Humberto Cardenas greeted Brigadier General Sarah "Mac" Mackenzie as she stepped through the office door after her lunch break. As Executive Officer to Major General Gabriel Bradley, the Marine Corps Logistics Command Commanding Officer, she was as close to the capital as the Marine Corps would allow her to be considering that she was in a relationship with the Judge Advocate General of the United States Navy.

It was hard being separated from Harm, but she knew that she had a job to do, at least for the next six months until she was able to separate from the Marine Corps. She'd done her twenty nine years out of thirty and she would be able to retire with a substantial percentage of her current wages as pension. "Good afternoon, Gunny." She greeted the Gunnery Sergeant, as she strode to her office. Six months from now couldn't come soon enough. Mac missed Harm terribly as the loneliness of being separated three states away from him, separated by the Carolinas and squatted in the south-western section of the state of Georgia often came to her during the hot and humid nights where she slept alone in her bed in her small apartment.

With most of her friends back up in Virginia, this posting wasn't the opportunity she had envisioned three years ago when she took it. And it took several weekends where Harm ended up unable to make it down to visit her because he had to oversee several JAGs who were out on a case that had suddenly come up, that convinced her that separation from the service would be the best avenue to reunification with her husband. As much as she had wanted her second star, she had wanted her husband more than her career but she intended to separate on the best possible terms with the Marine Corps that she could and that meant finishing out her posting here. It would give the Joint Chiefs the chance to review her service record and decide if she would keep her star into retirement. With only two years of service in grade, it seemed as though she would revert back to her eagles if she retired, however with Joint Chiefs review, her brigadier general's stars could be retained.

Contemplating the six month stretch before her though was not something that she was interested in doing while there was still work to be done here and Mac strode to her office in the hopes of being able to keep her mind on that work. But Harm was persistently planted in her cortex and all attempts to dislodge him by turning to her logistics files failed. Glaring at the files didn't work either.

Finally she turned to her personal laptop and started looking up bookings for an airline flight for the July 4th weekend. She'd be able to fly out to Dulles and then back to Albany on Monday evening. Granted for her height at 5'9", flying on a Delta 737 from Southwest Georgia Regional would be cramped. B737s were not known for their legroom. At least coming home would be a surprise to Harm, Mac thought.

_**Animal & Meg's home, 20021 Gleedsville Rd, Leesburg, VA, July 1, 2020, 1855 hrs**_

Animal reclined himself in his recliner grabbing the remote, pressing the _on_ button and flipping channels to find the news. On the whole, he was happy with his retirement after two days of it, but the trick was finding things to do. Katy was self-sufficient so it wasn't so much of a _baby-sitting_ situation as it was being a convenient chauffeur to take her to and from hockey practice – which meant his opportunities for getting out and photographing things was rather limited. Katy grabbed as much available ice-time as she could, considering that she was aiming for a scholarship to the University of Maine and that was of prime importance. So that meant a daily trip out to the arena and a daily chance to freeze one's buttocks off. But still, he was enjoying his retirement. _Maybe I should pick up a model kit and try working on it_, he thought to himself.

At that point of his contemplation, a key in the lock alerted him to the door. Gazing over at the door, he awaited the return of his wife. The door opened and Meg came through the door with briefcase in hand, and a smile on her face as she contemplated her husband sitting reclined in his recliner. "Hey…" Animal grinned at her.

"Hey yourself, flyboy." Meg murmured softly as she leaned over him and planted a kiss on his lips. "Have a fun day at home?"

"Kinda. Katy's out with a friend of hers. I think it was Michelle." Animal replied.

"OK. She say when she was going to be back?" Meg queried as she dropped her briefcase in the office.

Animal answered Meg's query, "She said that she would be back around ten-ish." He got out of the chair to wrap his arms around his wife who sighed happily and leaned back against his embrace. Of course considering his wife was five foot eleven, he had to crane his head up a little to rest his chin on her shoulder. But the difference in height had never bothered Meg at all.

"Before you get all lovey-dovey…" Meg teased as she turned in Animal's arms to give him another kiss. "Let me change. I've been in this uniform all day and I want it in the wash before I stick to it. It's July if you haven't forgotten."

He released Meg with a final kiss "Oh…not really. I still remember crossing the line and the fact that it was a welcome relief from getting baked by the heat coming off the no-skid." Animal stated.

Meg looked deeply into her husband's eyes; reached up a hand to his face and said "Are you happy that you're not wearing a uniform now? Do you miss it?" She searched her husband's face looking for any indications that Animal would be happier in uniform.

"It was time, sweetheart." Animal said. "I've spent enough years in uniform." He paused for a moment as he released his wife from his embrace and gazed in return at her enquiring look. "Besides, what are they going to do with an aging four-star? Anyways, it was time to hang it up and let the younger generation take the posts. Maybe they'll do a better job." He grinned at her as Meg looked back at him. Animal took a moment to study his beloved wife's face. Meg's features had softened from ingénue to maturity, she had also dyed her hair auburn, which accentuated those features. He grinned as he remembered Harm's first reaction to Animal's wife dying her hair. Harm's jaw had pretty much taken a dive towards the JAG office floor. The twinkling blue eyes hinting of mischievousness were still the same, but Meg, the blonde, was gone and would ever be, because Meg enjoyed the change in hair color and the reactions that it invoked in her husband, because Animal, regardless of whether Meg was blonde or auburn-haired, loved running his hands through her hair whenever they kissed (**AN: Hey, it's supposed to be a K-friendly story**)

"OK…I need to get changed and we need to have dinner." Meg said decisively.

About ten minutes later, Meg came out of their bedroom, in t-shirt and jeans. "Any idea on what you want for dinner, sweetie?" she asked.

"Nary a clue, honey." Animal responded. He had absolutely no idea of what his palate was in the mood for.

"Here's something…" Meg favored him with a sweet grin. "Chicken Parmesan Tuscany with seasoned rice and vegetables?"

Animal's eyes lit up. "mmmm… sounds good."

_**Mac's Apartment, #4-2205 Friar Tuck Ln, Albany, GA 1930hrs**_

Mac looked over at her recalcitrant duffle bag with irritation. It was the same duffle bag that had been with her through three deployments and countless moves and TADs. All she needed was one class A uniform and several changes of clothes and yet, she found that the duffle bag was not co-operating. The damned heavy-duty snap-button was not co-operating – she would have to take that duffle bag in to get it fixed, but she would have to find something else to transport her clothes in. Friday morning she was flying out of Southwest Georgia Regional to DC. Tomorrow she would have to go to the commissary and pick up one of those zippered duffles. That would be a choice between desert and regular MARPAT colors. Mac rolled her eyes. She was getting out in six months, why should she have to pick up another piece of equipment that she wasn't going to be using all that often, which she wouldn't have had to do if her oft-used duffle bag had just cooperated. She sighed knowing that was just a minor frustration as she would have Harm in her arms on Friday night.

A sandwich was all she had for dinner that night. Logistics was a tiring endeavor with all the different units on the east coast as well as deployed in Europe and the Med needing equipment and supplies. She knew that she wanted out. The oorah feeling just wasn't there any more and she wanted to spend more time with Harm. She missed her husband. The separation between them was a feeling she didn't want to repeat, but it was the only available one-star position at the time and if she didn't take it, she would have had to separate from the service, and that wasn't an option that she was willing to consider at the time. With that length of time apart, she was considering separation from the service more favorably now.

There were two sets of equipment going out to the MLP2 Camp Lejeune, as well as a transport of food supply. The Marine Landing Platforms were crude oil tankers converted into landing platforms and logistics supply stations that enabled Marines to conduct extended operations overseas. And that was taking up a lot of time setting it all up. Logistics involved having to deal with equipment requested as well as foreseeing what equipment was necessary. It was a headache inducing venture at the very least and one of the reasons why she had to get away from it all, at least for one weekend out of the next six months.

_**Harm's and Mac's home; 3656 Half Moon Circle, Lake Barcroft, VA 1950hrs**_

Harm and Mac had found the home of their dreams in Lake Barcroft, a stone's throw away from Falls Church, VA, it seemed. It was a lakefront property with a lot of curb appeal. And in the fall, the leaves were absolutely gorgeous turning colors of crimson and gold. It was an absolute delight. Of course, Animal liked coming over with his big honking Nikon lens to photograph loons and bald eagles off the pier in Harm's back yard. Mac always rolled her eyes whenever she saw Animal's car pull up. But Harm didn't mind it in the least. It was fun to hang out, have a couple of beers and watch Animal do his thing with the lens. Lake Barcroft was a paradise with loons, bald eagles and other forms of wildlife…and Animal was looking for a property in around that lake as well. It was too fun for him to come out and photograph landscapes as well. Well, it was either that or Lake Manassas. Frankly it was fun for Mac and Harm to spend a relaxing afternoon on the weekends watching the happenings on the lake. And having an eagle nest on a tall tree on their property just sealed the win-factor for this property.

Harm mused as he rested on the couch, his laptop in his hands, searching Google just for the heck of it. He noticed a little message icon on the Google Gmail account indicating that he had received an e-mail message.

_Ninjagrl68 to TomcatAviator63 _

_Message: Hey, flyboy, care to pick up a Marine at Ronald Reagan Airport at Friday noon? I know you can't resist a girl in uniform. Flying in on the noon Delta flight to RR. Pick me up? Want to spend the July 4__th__ weekend with you. Miss you so much. Love, your Ninjagirl. _

Harm grinned as he looked over the e-mail. Looked like this weekend wouldn't be a lonely one after all.

_**Animal & Meg's home, 20021 Gleedsville Rd, Leesburg, VA, July 1, 2020, 1955 hrs**_

"Hey, honey, I saw a place in Lake Manassas…" Animal grinned, holding up the real estate paper. "15814 Spyglass Hill Loop, 1.225…" he grinned appealingly at Meg who was at the stove cooking dinner. "And…it's got lakefront." He said as he pointed at the paper.

"Oh?" Meg shook her head wonderingly at her husband. He was always looking for a waterfront property, especially after Harm got one of his own. "Isn't that a bit far for Katy to go to hockey though?"

"I could take her to Prince William Ice Facility. It's got an NHL sized rink." Animal replied. "We could make it work."

"How about we make an appointment then to go see it?" Meg offered. Considering that a lakefront property could offer lots of photography opportunity for Animal since he was now retired, they could make a concession to live on the lakefront so he'd have something to do.

"OK…" Animal grinned. "I'll call the realtor first thing in the morning."

Meg finished the dinner, turned the stove off and then walked over and nuzzled her husband. "OK…sounds good. Now…come and eat. Dinner's ready."


End file.
